If you want to sell me

[Inneedofa610ce]

Originally posted by TimBarwick
...in addition to the suggestions I've already seen...

- Let me try the guitars in private
- Let me play any guitar I want
- Be honest (within reason) and straightforward
- Have a reasonable selection (just visited a Taylor dealer with two Babys and a 414)
- Remember my name
- Take the high road, don't slag off your competitors or guitars you don't have

-=Tim=-

I liked that last one.

I have a very friendly dealer ....kinda close to me, and another one that's about an hour away, they both always have an awesome collection, the noise is never too loud, if it was you'd know and politly turn it down, but there is always the one sales person that is braindead, but nice.

That was a pretty cool idea for a post.

ummmmm........... i'd like to add: Never try to debate with the customer why another brand is better than this one just for sport, even if you have both brands... that was kinda mentioned but.... i dunno... i needed to feel important

[lmn50]

Originally posted by cotten
Great answers already, but let me add one thing that should be obvious, but must not be to some dealers:

Be honest with me about the actual price I will be required to pay if I want this particular guitar, today, complete with the case in which it came from Taylor.

I'm not overly impressed with how much I'm "saving" or how much less expensive it would have been if I'd bought it during their Memorial Day Super Blowout Special.

cotten

Maybe we should start a Taylor Dealer Hall of Fame. I'll pass on the Hall of Shame, but some might find that helpful as well.

ABSOLUTELY, we should definitely make a list of our FAVORITE stores, I know Taylor would want to commend them.

[dcn100]

There are two Taylor dealors in the Bay Area that won't even let you ENTER their acoustic areas without a salesperson! It reminds me of Nigel in Spinal Tap: "Don't even look at it!"

One of the stores is Guitar Warehouse in Pleasanton, CA. Their acoustic area is roped off as if a murder had occurred there. The other is Bananas At Large in San Raphel, which has a closed door acoustic room with a sign telling you not to enter without a sales person. I find both environments highly chilling, and would go out of my way not to buy acoustic guitars at either place.

Once you finally get past the 'rope' at Guitar Warehouse, a salesman hovers like a gradeschool hall monitor. And as you attempt to try the instruments, shoots you glances like a dissatisfied housewife as if to say "are you finished yet?"

Once you get through the 'door' at Bananas, before you can play, the salesman must first demonstrate about 3 guitars, give you a lecture, then finally, and with clear misgivings, hands you the guitar and stares at you intently, waiting for your concert to begin. It is about impossible to even vaguely focus on the sound and subtleties of the instrument. And I get the impression that if you did buy there, when you got home you'd be thinking "now what did I buy?"

On the other hand, say what you will about Guitar Center, but at least you can play the friggin' guitars without an FBI background check or psychological warfare. Recently at the San Jose Guitar Center, I plucked a DDSM off the wall and sampled away, with no one so much as batting an eyebrow. I would gladly give my money to them as opposed to the other two places I mentioned.

But for the record we also have an excellent Taylor dealer: Guitar Showcase in San Jose.

[Steve314]

I don't know that I mind the "Please Ask Before Playing" tags.

I was at a dealer in Florida this weekend, checking out some 5XX's and 7XX's. None of the guitars I tried had any tags on them indicating that you should ask before you played them.

What they DID have, though, was some significant "shop wear". Plenty of pickguard scratches, and there were three which had pick scratches on the wood.

When I inquired into the possibilty of getting one without the shop wear, I was told that every Taylor they had was on the wall. And, despite the wear, the discount the proprietor was offering was nothing to write home about; maybe 20-25%.

Now, if I'm going to buy a new guitar, I'd prefer that it look new. I can get past some light scratches, but what I saw at this particular dealer were not light scratches. Had he required customers to ask before playing, maybe they would have been in better condition (hey, I said "maybe!).

I don't have a problem with asking before playing, especially if it's a guitar that's going to exhume a large amount of cash from my wallet.

I find it interesting that most of us want people to ask permission before they play our guitars, yet most people here don't seem to want to ask permission before playing the guitars which belong to a dealer. Is it really that big of an inconvenience, especially if it helps keep the guitars in better condition?

Steve

[kennyk]

Sound Control in Edinburgh keeps all their high-end guitars on the wall, but there's an electronic anti-theft cable that weaves inbetween the strings, then on to the next guitar etc. If you disconnect any of the phono cables in the loop then the alarm goes off!

The only way to get to play them is to ask, then they stand over you waiting to re-connect the system.

Sometimes the guy with the key cannot be found...

anyway you can't be heard for the hundreds of people playing strats, Les Pauls, SGs etc. Most of them are behind a similar anti-theft device too

There's another shop that won't even let you try the instruments without begging (fortunately not a Taylor dealer - they have acoustic brands I've never heard of - (Apex) and once I saw what looked like a counterfeit Gibson 'The Paul')

ho hum

[Steve314]

Originally posted by kennyk
and once I saw what looked like a counterfeit Gibson 'The Paul')

Actually, "The Paul" was a model that Gibson produced for a time. While it wasn't anything (in my always mildly humble opinion) like a "real" Les Paul, it didn't suck...

Steve

[Inneedofa610ce]

The paul huh? Kinda sounds like what gibson put custom on the headstock's of the guitars that were made for the band "The Band" if you don't know who they are then you're not my friend. Oh yeah the headstock used to say "The Gibson"

[tim farney]

Give me a roomful of Taylors without electronics.

Tim

[waterdogmtb]

Tim, if you ever find a dealer like that, I'll be right behind ya

[ScottyMac]

Some good advice...especially the first few posts.

I shop price, selection, and service. I have an expectation of a certain percent off of list with Taylor. I want to be able to play the guitar for at least a couple of hours with little interuption. I want a quiet place so I don't feel self-concious about my playing. I want the guitar in tune, not a half step lower to give the impression of a bigger sound.

I found a store here in Colorado that provides everything above. Unfortunately, he's almost 5 hours away.

[kennyk]

Actually, "The Paul" was a model that Gibson produced for a time. While it wasn't anything (in my always mildly humble opinion) like a "real" Les Paul, it didn't suck...

yeah, but the real 'The Paul' presumably didn't have the Gibson logo 'painted' on the headstock....

[Butrosgali]

There is a dealer in Western Massachusetts that has the sign
"Please ask before playing the Martins or the Taylors." I also
don't mind that. They have a lot of dough tied up in that inventory. I just don't like having to blow the dust off the instruments once they take them down for you. But they are
pretty good, knowledgable guys and they have a Luthier down stairs who do factory authorized service for a few lines.

There's another shop out here that doesn't sell Taylors - primarily
Takamines, Ovations, and Hamers (Kaman) . Not only do they want you to ask permission to play this stuff but won't let you use a pick! You might scratch a pick guard! I'll never buy anything from these people, but I will go in there and put them through their paces. Their prices stink too. I almost got them to give me a
ton on a trade for a Martin DMX. They were awestruck by the
Martin name on a headstock. I didn't have the heart to do it and
there wasn't too much in the store I really wanted any way.
Some of the Hamers weren't bad.

I guess it takes all kinds. All of the Taylor dealers out here will match eachother's prices. Then it comes down to service considerations. One thing GC has going for it is th 30 days
return policy. That's pretty good.

Al

814CE-LTD

[jeepnstein]

The closest stocking Taylor dealer to me does everything right. And I mean EVERYTHING. Route 60 Music in Barboursville West Virginia is just such a friendly place. They know guitars, they know people who play guitars, and they really want to sell you a guitar.

Their acoustic room is quite small. So if you really want to get a feel for something you must take it to the little stage area they have in the middle of the store. I have never encountered a kid just relentlessly shredding in there but I have heard a couple who could really bring it. I'll describe the whole place as more relaxing than chaotic and leave it at that. And management is the reason for that pleasant and consistent experience.

[bwstl01]

If I'm sitting down trying to play a guitar, please stop talking to me. Hard sell is not how to move Taylor guitars.

Also, if the best thing you can tell me about a Taylor is how bad the Martin guitars are these days, then you don't know your product (or Martin, for that matter). Besides, if you are going to knock Martins, why do you have them for sale in the first place?

[Joboxer]

Treat me the same no matter what I'm wearing...... I worked for 25 yrs wearing smart suits/jackets etc, and found in guitar stores I could try whatever I liked. Now I am mainly in jeans and boots and its a 180 degree turnaround in attitude.....Women the same actually, but thats another story!!